Ethics in Computing - Essay Example

Ethics in Computing Introduction The computing technology has been advancing to very high levels in theworld today. This aspect of technology has been very influential in various spheres of the world and most notably the information and communication spheres of the world. It has been cited that the technology is one of the most influential factors in the concept of globalization. This means that computing is a very integral part of the world today and it is responsible for the developments that have been noted in various areas of the world and this include such areas as development in economic terms, industrial development in many countries and also elevating the efficiency of communication. In general, computing is very vital to all aspects of life today (Begg, 2005). The Computing Industry and the Ethical Concern The world is undergoing an information revolution and this has changed the aspects of many other sectors in significant degrees. Some of the areas that have been changed include entertainment, employment, security, commerce, transportation and medicine. It is important to note that these areas are just a few of the areas that have been changed by the computing revolution the world is going through. With so many areas being affected by the computing industry, many aspects of life have also been affected either positively or negatively and this is mainly in the family life, community life, relationships between humans, democracy, education, freedom and careers. These are just some of the aspects that have been affected by the computing industry. This precipitates the importance of the computer and information ethics which broadly means that the field should have applied ethics which are very instrumental in studying and analyzing the ethical and social impacts of information and communication technology (Philippa, 1967). Specifically, computer ethics have been used in reference to the professional philosophers' application of traditional theories of western origin which include such theories as Kantianism, utilitarianism or the virtue ethics and these is incorporated into the field of computer and computer networks. This field is also concerned with professional code of ethics and also good practice standards which are to be practiced by the professionals in this field. Other codes of ethics that have been incorporated in the computer ethics include cyber ethics and internet ethics which are concerned with the cyber space and the internet respectively (Begg, 2005). The stakeholders in the computing industry The stakeholders of the computing industry can be classified into two categories namely; the primary and the secondary stakeholders. The stakeholders play a very important part in the computing industry ethics and also in ensuring that the industry upholds to the integrity that is concerned with various issues in the industry (Huff, 1995). The primary stakeholders include the companies in the stakeholders and there are many all over the world. The companies that are involved in the computing industry include some big names in the corporate world like Microsoft, IBM, Dell, Apple, Panasonic, NEC, Hewlett and Packard, Silicon Graphics and a host of other companies. The play a very important role in the industry and this is by ensuring that the offer the market basic computing equipments and accessories. They are also involved in developing the quality of the products they offer the market and hence they play a very important part in ensuring that computing industry is incorporated in other various aspects of life (Flanagan, 2008). The other primary stakeholders are the organizations that have been formed to look into the various activities that are involved in the computing industry. These include such organizations as Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS), International Electro-technical Commission (IEC), and Computer Measurement Group (CMG) among other organizations. They play an important part in the industry because they ensure that the computing companies do not have negative effects in other aspects as well as ensuring that the negative effects that cannot be avoided are limited to a certain level. They also play an important part in ensuring that companies adhere to some regulations which can be seen as ethical codes of the computing industry (Johnson, 1995). The secondary stakeholders include the end user who has the responsibility of ensuring that minimum negative impact is felt by other elements. These elements include such things as employment, environment, commercial activities, education and other elements that are equally important to the lives of the society and the individual. These stakeholders need to be educated on how to minimize the impact that the computing industry's products may have on their livelihoods and the livelihoods of the community at large. It is important to note that the end user of the products ranges from a person using a personal computer to work to the people who use services that are highly computerized like the clients of financial institutions and transportation industry (Deborah, 2001). Computing industry ethical concerns Although there are numerous ways to look into the field of ethics as far as the computing industry is concerned, there are some representative ways which are very important in helping to understand the core of the subject. These ways are issues and examples that represent the problems that may be attributed to the computation industry. To this effect, the computing ethical concerns may be highlighted by such factors as computing in the workplace, crime attributed to computing, the issue of privacy and anonymity, and the aspect of intellectual property, professional responsibility, the issue of globalization and also the meta-ethics of computer ethics (Begg, 2005). Computers in the workplace The computing industry has been highly developed that computers can perform virtually any task and this has been seen as a threat to the employment of various individuals. It is important to note that computers by far are very efficient compared to the humans and this is by the fact that the computers do not tire and do not need rest, the computers do not also fall ill and if there is a problem, it can be repaired by an expert and the computer will just go back to performing the task without the need of a rest that a human being will require after falling ill and being treated. Since the inception of the computer numerical control machines, employment of the people has been put under threat. Even when the employment of the people is not directly under threat, computerization has greatly changed the employment duties of the people and this can be evidenced by the fact that a pilot of an autopilot airplane will just have to sit and watch as the computer flies the plane (Bowyer, 2004). However, the employment issue will not be such a problem because as the computer use is increased; there will be people who will need to work on the computers and also the people who will teach other people to effectively use the computer. This means that although in the short term computers in the work place will be a social problem with gross unemployment being recorded in various industries, in the long term the information and communication technology will create more employment opportunities (Begg, 2005). Morrison and Forester (1990) states that, "when information technology is introduced into a workplace, it is important to consider likely impacts upon health and job satisfaction of workers who will use it. It is possible, for example, that such workers will feel stressed trying to keep up with high-speed computerized devices." This means that computing will also have an impact on the health of the employees. Crime and computers The increased use of computers has raised concerns that computer crime or cyber crime will increase. Recently there have been the concepts of cyber terrorism which raises the concern about the levels of crime that are being precipitated by the advanced technology in information and communication technology. This is a major concern for the computer ethics. There have been the concepts of viruses and Trojan horses that can send personal information to other people and also the concept of hackers who can access personal information. These information can be used to access financial information of people and hence the rising cyber crime. There has been a misunderstanding between computer crime with some quarters arguing that the most notable is the physical security concerning the computer hardware. However, the logical security is the most important and is the one raising concerns in computer ethics (Deborah, 2001). Crime in computing also means that the process of investigating a crime is very costly. Spafford states that, "Even if the hacker did indeed make no changes, the computer's owner must run through a costly and time-consuming investigation of the compromised system" (Spafford, 1992). Privacy and anonymity Privacy and anonymity is one of the problems that first aroused and in recent years it has been a concern of the computer ethics. The major culprits to this effect are the governments and especially the developed countries' governments led by the United States. The United States government has a large database of the citizens and this has been seen as infringement of the privacy rights of the citizens. However, what is most alarming is the fact that illegal people are accessing private information of other people and this poses as a threat to the privacy of the people. This means that computer ethics have to address this vice as soon as possible and in the most efficient way (James, 1998). Legal Implications Many countries in the world have enacted legislations and regulations to the extent of which a computer ethics are applicable. There are regulations which are subjected to various organizations which grossly utilize the computing technology as well as individuals who use personal computers. It is important to note that every country in the world does not allow any criminal activity of any form and this includes cyber criminal and cyber terrorism. The countries have come to realize the danger that is posed by the development of information technology and hence they are introducing policies which are deemed to secure the field of information technology. There are also laws which are deemed to protect the interest of the people and this is mainly in accordance to such issues as employment, education, commercial activities and the environment (Begg, 2005). Informal guidelines to the computer ethics When one is being engaged in a computer activity especially through the internet, there are some various guidelines that one has to check so that he or she can be seen as complying with the computer ethics. If for example you want to start an online business, it is better to check if your instincts are against the venture. It is also important to note that if you can feel comfortable telling your mother about the venture. It is also important to note whether you would like the world knowing what you are doing through nationwide television advertisements. It is also important to gauge whether you would advertise the venture into the market and if the venture would be instrumental in giving you an edge in the market. It is also important to ask yourself if there are people who would not want you talking about the venture in public and if these people are trying to silence you in any way (Bowyer, 2001). Formal guidelines to the computer ethics In any computer related venture, there are formal guidelines that help you to know if you are complying with the computer ethics. These guidelines include such elements as the policies of a given company or the policies that are given as a guideline by a legislative authority like a government. Formal guidelines also address the question of the code of ethics that are provided for by an organization or a legislative authority (Deborah, 2001). Ethical Principles One important question for that should act as a guideline is what is the benefit and the harm of a particular code of ethics in the computing industry. There is need for action in terms of policies to be implemented by the stakeholders. One theory of ethics is consequentialism and this relates to he harms and benefits that the stakeholders stand to be subjected to if a certain policy is implemented. Under consequentialism, there is the aspect of egoism and this answers the question what harm or benefit a stakeholder stand to be subjected to if a certain policy is enacted (Bowyer, 2004). As a case study, if the government implements a policy of not transacting through the internet, there are various impacts that will be felt by the stakeholders in the computing industry. As an end user, it is important to ask oneself what benefits and what harms the government's policy will accrue to him or her. Such a policy stand to have various benefits and harms to the end user, One of the benefit is that the end user will not be at risk of having his financial information leaked in the internet and this means that such people as hackers and virus programmers will not have a chance of accessing the end user's information online and hence securing the end user from cyber crime. On the other hand the end user will be harmed in that he will not have the reliable means of transacting online. This can be very hard to a person who is used to transacting online (Deborah, 2001). Another approach to ethic principals is the rights and duties theory. This theory is concerned with the rights of knowing, the rights of privacy and the rights of owning property. To this effect, if the government implements a policy concerned with computer ethics, one as the end user will need to ask him or herself if there are any rights that have been abridged. There are also the duties that the end user will be responsible of if the government implements a policy. These duties includes if the end user is responsible of trust, integrity and other responsibilities. The duties can be classified as either personal or professional (Begg, 2005). Policy implementation Various stakeholders need to come with policies that ensure that the computing industry portrays integrity and that vices in the industry are done away with. All stakeholders need to come up with policies which ensure that the industry does not have social and environmental problems to the community at large. This can be achieved by implementing policies which encourage integrity and the upholding of computer ethics. The stakeholders starting from the primary stakeholders to the secondary stakeholders need to ensure that the ethical principals are upheld and there could be the incorporation of governmental, organizational, social and political involvement in the implementation of various policies (Bowyer, 2001). The ethical principals that are to be implemented will have impacts on all stakeholders of the computing industry and although some of the impacts will be negative, most of them are deemed to be very beneficial to all stakeholders. These policies will ensure that the computing industry will not have major negative effects socially and environmentally to the community at large. Bibliography Begg, M.M. (2005), "Muslim Parents Guide: Making Responsible Use of Information and Communication Technologies at Home," Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. 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